Saarinen’s TWA Terminal. In 1955, Eero Saarinen was commissioned by TWA to create a terminal at JFK Airport that evoked the spirit of flight. What he created is a massive concrete shell that is said to be modeled on an upside-down half grapefruit Saarinen ate for breakfast one morning during the design process: He pushed down on the middle, and the sides bulged – traits reflected in the terminal’s profile. Inside the main lobby, ceilings soar, walls and windows swoop and dive, staircases flow and seats double as sculpture. A “conversation pit,” carpeted and furnished in lush red, has a sloping wall of windows that looked over the runways until the airport was expanded. But the modern touch involved more than just structure; the terminal needed to be functional, with traffic flow and expediency taken into account. Saarinen’s design was ahead of its time, with features such as enclosed passenger jetway “tubes” (also carpeted in red), electronic arrival and departure boards, a central PA system and baggage carousels. Sadly, Saarinen died before his final building was completed in 1962. The TWA Terminal is included on the National Register of Historic Places, and there’s a plan to transform it into a hotel by 2018.

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